Hello from the Outside

Now this is momentous! For the first time since Roman went to Hollywood, someone in Salem is in the actual outdoors!

Okay, well, not in Salem. Maybe the rule is that you have to leave the Salem city limits in order to be someplace “outside” that isn’t just Astroturf, a bunch of potted plants, and a bench. I still think it’s insane that Brady just took off for L.A. like that (and got there in the time it took Nicole to run back to her apartment), considering that he just had a damn heart transplant, but at least they had Theresa worrying about his health. As for Nicole, she should be a better liar than that. Her excuse to Theresa was basically, “I’m going to take care of the one thing that would actually be of interest to you!” Why didn’t she just say she was going to help Chloe with Parker, or that her brother Brandon was sick or something? Idiot.

And who did Brady find in Malibu besides… Dario Hernandez, randomly, with a new face? I was no huge fan of the first iteration of the character (for all six months he was around), but I liked Jordi Vilasuso in the role already just based on Friday’s episode. Seems a little strange that he didn’t give two hoots about the fact that Gabi had a baby or went to prison for murder, but I guess he is the son of a woman who couldn’t be bothered to visit for either of those events, so maybe it’s genetic.

I’m curious to know where this Summer thing is headed, but also: what a shitty statement about organ donation! “Yeah, your life will be saved, and you’ll be scar-free and able to travel within days, but you will also experience unbearable visions accompanied by a cheap-to-license adult rock tune that will surely drive you insane!” Great. In that case, I’ll just go ahead and sign a DNR.

Friday’s show, on the whole, was pretty good. Belle’s talk with Marlena was long overdue — though I’m not clear on why Belle has felt so much pressure to be “the responsible one.” It doesn’t sound like Shawn was being irresponsible while they were abroad and in Maine. If he’d been a deadbeat who couldn’t pay the bills, or if Claire were some demon child, I might understand more, but all anyone asked of her was to be a decent mother and maybe work (which she seems to want to do)? Meanwhile, the Victor/Philip scenes were really strong. John Paul Lavoisier toned things down, and I really bought him as Philip, and Victor was just the right amount of vulnerable-hurt and stone-cold. I thought Steve and Kayla were sort of the weak links, surprisingly, though I appreciated that they had Steve decide to tell her the truth so quickly. I wanted Kayla to just shut up for five seconds to let him explain, and I think they could’ve gone deeper. Maybe Steve doesn’t want to say “rape” because he doesn’t want to trivialize what Kayla went through. But he could’ve been clearer about how severe the coercion was, and how he felt he had no other choice. Like a lot of the show right now, things are almost working, but there are crucial pieces of plot and depth being skipped over, and it’s doing no one any favors.

2 Comments on “Hello from the Outside”

i have too much swirling around in my manic brain about all of this but i felt the same way about seeing brady at that beach! love it. reminds me of the old more prosperous day of outdoor shoots……but yeah, what lurks within Summer that will ooze out eventually i wonder??
and apparently (HA! parent) mama Hernandez is spose to make a long over due appearance in salem……maybe they got her out of that well she fell into by now.

It really was a breath of fresh air to see people in the actual outdoors! And the footage looked awesome. I know they can’t afford this all the time, but it really does up the production value a ton.

My favorite Mama Hernandez excuse was when she “fell hanging the drapes” right before Gabi’s HS graduation. Lady, you didn’t come visit when your older daughter DIED! I’m so sure you just happened to have a drape-related accident that very week…